Arizona Statehouse elects new leadership after Tuesday election

By KTAR.com | November 8, 2018 at 11:10 amUPDATED: November 8, 2018 at 5:31 pm

(Flickr/Ted Eytan)

PHOENIX — There is new leadership at the Arizona Statehouse after voters took to the polls during Tuesday’s midterm election.

Sen. Karen Fann, R-Prescott, was named the next Senate president, Sen. Rick Gray, R-Sun City, will be the next majority leader and Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, was chosen to be the next majority whip.

The moves were announced Wednesday after a post-election meeting by the Republican majority.

Fann, a small business owner, will be the second woman ever to preside over the state Senate. She was elected to the Senate in 2017 and served six years in the Arizona House prior to that.

Gray, who is also a small business owner, was appointed to the Senate earlier this year and had previously served in the House from 2013 to 2017.

On the House side, Rep. Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, was elected as the next speaker, while Rep.-elect Warren Petersen of Gilbert was named majority leader and Rep. Becky Nutt of Clifton was picked as majority whip.

“Being entrusted by my colleagues to serve as Speaker of the House is a responsibility that I don’t take lightly,” Bowers said in a statement.

“While the state has many challenges to confront over the next couple of years, I’m optimistic about the ability of the House to address them and keep Arizona on the right track.”

Bowers, an educator, had served in the state House from 1993 to 1997 and served in the state Senate from 1997 to 2001, where he was majority leader from 1999 to 2001.

Petersen was re-elected to the House on Tuesday after serving in the Senate since 2017. Prior to that, he served in the House from 2013 to 2017. Nutt has also served in the House since 2017.

The first regular session for the 54th Legislature will begin on Jan. 14.